


whale watching

by goodnightfern



Category: One Piece
Genre: Acearo QP, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Asexual Relationship, F/F, M/M, Service Animals, Strawhats, Trans Characters, gluten-free
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-09
Updated: 2017-05-04
Packaged: 2018-08-20 08:13:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 10,337
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8242483
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/goodnightfern/pseuds/goodnightfern
Summary: Nami isn't a matchmaker or anything. This all just happened.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> hello one piece fandom it's me.  
> i'll probably write more of this because i want to play with acearo queerplatonic relationshit and ptsd and whatnot

"Law's like you," Nami says, sweeping breadcrumbs off the table. "He hates sex."

Luffy puts down his sandwich to blink at her. "What's that?"

"Law. He hates -"

"I don't hate sex," Luffy says. "Why would I hate sex? Sex makes people happy, sex makes babies - Nami, every single person alive today is alive because of sex. I love sex, and-"

"Goddammit, that's not what I mean-"

"-and I wouldn't want to hang out with someone who hates sex," Luffy finishes. "So you can tell that guy to fuck off."

"That's not what I meant!"

"That's what you said."

"I mean," Nami drawls, "that he's asexual. Like you."

"Oh." Luffy rocks back in his chair a bit. "Why didn't you just say so?" He picks up the crusts of his sandwich and shoves them in his mouth before crumpling up the empty paper plate. Nami grabs it on instinct.

Living with Luffy is like living with a wild animal. Nami honestly believed Luffy was raised by wolves when she first met him, and from the glimpses of his childhood she's caught after four years of being roommates - yeah, she wasn't too far off track.

"Aw, Nami," Luffy says after she throws the trash away and wipes down the table with a sponge. "You work too hard. Some things you gotta just let go."

Nami raises an eyebrow. Luffy's hair is stiff from saltwater, his faded tank top looks like it hasn't been washed in weeks, and the goddamn hat is dangling on a frayed string around his neck. His toes are actually on the table, knees bent up around him, and the soles of his feet are black.

"Sure," she says. "It's not like I'm barely floating above a sea of squalor in here. I just gotta _let go_. Yeah, let me just empty the trash can all over the place. Let me just drape myself in sea weed and roll all over the floor. Let's never wash dishes again, Luffy, 'cause I just looove the smell of rotten food!" Now she's actually in the trash can, throwing banana peels and balled-up napkins all over the kitchen and Luffy is laughing and Nami doesn't even give a shit, just keeps ranting.

"Nami, Nami, Nami," Luffy chuckles, slapping the table. "You're making a mess. Need some help?"

"I hate you."

"Love you too."

"You don't get to meet my friend."

"What friend?"

"The one..." and wow, Nami really shouldn't slap her forehead with the hand that was just down the trash can. "I just told you about him!"

"You just want to set us up because we both hate sex, huh?"

"Well I just thought - it won't be weird or anything - he's a med student and he has a cool dog - he's friends with Robin and he's new in town and-"

"Any friend of Nami and Robin is a friend of mine," Luffy declares. "Whoa, Nami. Don't leave banana peels on the floor. Someone could slip."

 

 

Nami turned down the meteorologist job at the local TV station because she knew those jackasses only wanted to hire her for her boobs. Haha, yeah, she gets it. Fucking old men nauseate her sometimes. She's interested in what her tutor, Robin, does, but she'd rather not go to freeze her ass off in Antarctica to dredge ancient samples of ice. She'll be a consultant for a resort, maybe, in some fruity tropical climate, but until she gets her degree she's stuck here. 

Not that the town is too bad. It's nice to live by the beach, if only it was warmer for more than three months out of the year. Working as a weather consultant for the whale-watching tours doesn't pay a ton, but that's how she met Luffy.

Luffy lives for the water. Luffy thinks Nami's some kind of genius. Luffy should be getting a degree in Oceanography or something and go work for NOAA, but he'd rather just bum around Eureka with his friends trying to console the tourists getting pissed off that they're not seeing more whales.

Sometimes it's hard to remember that Luffy's actually pretty fucking smart, in his own way. He'd never let you know, but when he starts talking about the sea, about sailing ships and tracking whales it starts to come through.

Nami kind of loves him when she doesn't want to strangle him.

She's pedaling home from the campus when she decides to swing by the wharf. Just to pick up some fresh fish for tonight. Maybe some octopus. Luffy likes the chewy little tentacles.

Okay, and maybe she can stop by the tour guide's shack. Luffy's yellow rubber raincoat is wide open and he isn't even wearing a shirt. He's yakking away on the phone, marking on his calendar, but when he sees Nami he nearly drops the phone.

"Nami? What are you doing here, shopping? Get octopus!"

"Get back to your client!"

"It's okay. I had to put them on hold for a second, I'm a busy professional man with hundreds of important business calls to make." He grins, spinning on his chair. "But you need to get extra - we're having company tonight!"

"Company? Who the hell-"

"Shhh, Nami, go buy the octopus. I gotta get back to this call."

She rubs her fingers together at him, miming. Sighing, Luffy scrabbles around for his wallet and hands her a few bills.

She'll find out who their mystery guest is when they show up. Sometimes, she just has to give up and trust Luffy.

 

 

 

Sanji texts a hundred different recipes for octopus but Nami does _not_ need him to come over and show her personally, thanks. She decides on making ceviche with half the octopi and a red-wine stew with the other half. A perfect excuse to buy wine. Then she preps garlic bread, a salad, and then she sits down at the table and has a tall glass of wine wondering what the fuck her life is. She's not even a good cook. Hell, most of the time she just throws together sandwiches and orders pizza and picks up rotisserie chickens.

But Luffy has company, so she might as well make them look like functioning adults.

 Shit, what if he eats as much as Luffy?

They've got chips in the cupboard. Cereal, too. It's fine.

She tries a bite of the simmering octopus - it's almost ready, and it's not half bad. "Nice work," she tells herself. "You go, girl. It's not like you're Luffy's mom or anything - you are _developing skills._ An important distinction to make."

"She's talking to herself."

"What-" Nami spins around in the kitchen, leaning over the kitchen so she can see who the fuck just came in the apartment. "Law? What are you-"

Law holds up Luffy's clusterfuck of a keychain. "He said he's running late, so he just... gave me this." At his feet, Bepo barks.

"When did you meet Luffy? How long have you known each other?"

"Yesterday." Law throws himself down on the couch like he belongs there. Bepo jumps up, too, the Samoyed already shedding hair all over the place. Nami didn't even give Luffy Law's number.

"Did Robin...?"

"Robin." Law nods. "Luffy has a lot of friends," he says, running a hand through Bepo's fur. "I think he knows everyone in this town. He must be really important."

Law has only been in town since the semester started. He's kind of the campus creep until you see his bouncy dog trotting besides him, open tongue and a ready smile. Bepo doesn't seem to be an official service animal, but he must be an emotional support animal or something because the dog goes to every class. They take naps in the quad together and it's honestly adorable. She puts down a bowl of water for the dog and calls him over, stealing a quick scratch behind the ears.

"So did Luffy say when he'd get home?" Nami asks, and that's when the door bursts open.

"Traffy!" Luffy booms, dropping his paper bags. He put on a shirt at some point, but there's a massive rip at the collar. Law says nothing, and Luffy actually tackles him on the couch. "Dude, you'll never guess what I got for you!"

"Hello to you too," Nami snaps. Luffy has a nickname for Law already. This is ridiculous.

Law might actually be smiling. He's just letting Luffy lean on him like they've known each other for ages, and he's fucking smiling. "I'm not guessing; just tell me."

"Bread."

"I don't like-"

"It's gluten free, look." Luffy leaps off the couch and sits cross-legged in front of the bags, pulling everything out. Law follows him, looking vaguely amused."It's all gluten-free! And not just bread! We got bagels, we got waffles, we got pasta, crackers, cookies - anything you want. All gluten-free."

Nami quickly hides the garlic bread in a cupboard.

Law's black hood is heavy over his face. He stands surveying Luffy's bounty with his arms crossed. "Luffy, that's too much food."

"Whatever, we'll just save it for later!" Luffy opens a box of cookies. "Mm, these are good."

"I can tell. You just ate three."

"Try one!"

"I'm..." and Law glances at Nami, looking lost. "...waiting for dinner."

"Okay. But from now on whenever you come over, you'll always know there's something for you to eat here."

Law's eyes actually widen for a moment. He opens his mouth but nothing comes out, and Bepo comes up to bump his hand. "I don't need to eat all the time like you, you bottomless pit," he says, hastily. "But. Uh. Thank you."

"Of course! We're friends now, man," Luffy grins, and Law is looking at him like he hung the goddamn stars.

Nami knows she must look like an idiot right now, but what the flying fuck.

This happened _way_ faster than she thought.

Law is quiet over dinner. Luffy just keeps talking and talking, until Law cracks another smile and the sight of it just makes Luffy beam.

As weeks pass the cupboard is constantly stocked with gluten-free products. Gluten-free beer fills up the fridge. Law has a ridiculous amount of tattoos and Luffy won’t shut up about getting one of his own. Luffy crashes his bike and Law starts to sleep on their couch to make sure Luffy keeps his bandages on and clean. Nami starts waking up in the morning to see them squished on the couch together, Luffy drooling and Law muttering in his sleep.

Sometimes they go down to the beach with the whole crew. Sometimes Luffy will take a break from the party, go find Law and just stand next to him, finally quiet - for a while, at least, until he drags Law back to the bonfire and jumps right back in the conversation. Law will sit there, making the odd comment, a beer in one hand and Luffy's fingers in the other.

Well, Nami might not have quite set them up, but she always knew they’d make a good match. They both liked stupid hats, after all.

When Luffy ends up moving in with Law and Bepo, Nami knows she's won. She spends an entire weekend cleaning the apartment, drinking wine all alone, and just enjoying some goddamn quiet for once in her life. She even brings girls over, for once in her fucking life. Maybe someday she'll invite Robin for dinner, use some of those cooking skills. Get a few candles to really set the mood.

Yeah, Nami's a genius.

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my, this was deep in my wip folder. And so it goes.

Robin introduced Law to the bakery by the wharf. They’d met for coffee a few times, in wobbly wrought-iron chairs, but Law has never actually stepped foot inside.

But then he’d seen the gluten-free options in the pastry case. Appropriately separated from the devil wheat products, too. 

Part of what Law is trying to do, has been trying to do ever since he came out to this sleepy coastal town, is to step outside of his comfort zone. With Bepo at his side he’s a stronger person. Over three thousand miles away from Boston, he’s someone entirely new. 

This is the process of reinvention. Of self-creation rather than self-destruction. He hasn’t had a drink in eight months, not since he started school again. He’s quit the cigarettes. And he’s… still here. Sleeping is still a problem. Sometimes he wakes up and he thinks he’s back in the old house in Boston - but Bepo is there, and he doesn’t have a fucking heart attack because he’s still here. 

Today is his day off. No classes. And he actually left the house instead of taking the opportunity to hole up in his room. It’s drizzling, at least, so he can wear his hood up. Bright sunlight still makes him feel a little too exposed. And now he’s going to walk in a bakery and order something. 

He clutches Bepo’s leash, looks down. Inhales. Reaches down to touch something soft and stable and strong, and all right. 

Someone brushes past him through the swinging doors and Law has to shake himself, momentarily brought out of the moment. Maybe he should turn around, but - 

Law frowns. He’s seen that bright yellow raincoat before, the straw hat dangling down the back. That’s the guy Robin always waves to when they’re getting coffee here. 

That’s Luffy. 

Law grabs the door where it’s still swinging and steps in after him. 

Robin has said odd cryptic things about her friend. He doesn’t go to school, not anymore. Robin said his dreams were too strong for college. Robin said he saved her life. Robin has good taste in people.

The guy is bouncing on his heels and talking too fast and he orders three everything bagels, toasted, and he actually tells the cashier he wants enough cream cheese to choke a horse. 

“Not too hungry today, are you?” the cashier asks, smirking, and Luffy’s laugh is bellowing in the tiny confines of the bakery. 

“Fine, fine! Make it four. And add tomato. I got a long day ahead of me.”

Luffy pays and steps to the side but keeps talking. He knows every member of the staff here, and the cashier does a poor job paying attention to Law. 

“Sorry, sorry,” she says, grinning. “That’s - regulars, you know.”

“Can you tell me about your gluten free options?” Law asks, right as Luffy decides to sidle up next to him.

“They got plenty of stuff for you, Law. Check it out. The brownies are my favorite, but you might like the biscotti. They even got a coffee flavored one, don’t you like coffee a lot? And the lemon bars are really good, and -”

Law doesn’t even realize he’s freezing up until Bepo steps on his foot. Catching his breath, he tries to regroup. Now Luffy is talking, and he’s still talking, and he somehow -

“You know my name?”

“Of course I do.” Luffy looks mildly affronted at being questioned. “You’re Robin’s friend, right? And you share a class with Nami. Don’t worry about it. I know everybody.”

Law gives the cashier a desperate glance, but she just grins, throws up her hands.

“What are you doing today?” Luffy is asking. “You ever been on a glass-bottom boat?”

So. Trying new things. Going with the flow. 

Luffy’s smile is a little too big and Law remembers the things he’s learned. The toolbox of positive coping mechanisms, that’s what his therapist calls it.

When pushed into a corner, autopilot is easy. With Bepo at his side, Law knows he’s safe.

 

A breeze scuffs over the choppy waves, but the boat rides slow and steady. The tourists gawk at the fat seals draped on the pier while Luffy talks with his hands. Bepo rears up on his hind legs to place his forepaws on the railing Law’s leaning over, sniffing sea and salt.

From here, Law can’t see the shore. Nothing but blue sky and blue water, endless horizon and the mist of rain. His feet feel lighter on the sea, his head feels like the top has been blown off. 

Law isn’t a part of the tour group. He got on for free. Just because Luffy asked, and for once Law didn’t say no.

He’s almost giddy with the freedom of it. 

Then he hears shouting from the stern, and Luffy is pointing and the tourists are pulling out binoculars and cameras and - oh.

A massive tail is raised from the water, then falls with a resonating slap.

Law stares.

A spray of water rises, a slick slide of flesh rising with it before sinking.

Law’s feet move without his noticing, until he’s leaning over the rail and staring at what he can’t see, the massive mammalian forms beneath the waterline. The whales tease, rolling and slapping their tails, and they’re just. 

Huge.

Beautiful.

Wild.

Tremendous and terrifying and gorgeous. These open horizons are their home, and somewhere beneath the blue is an entire dizzying world, and Law is over three thousand miles from Boston and seeing whales for the first time in his life. 

He doesn’t even notice Luffy is next to him until the pod has passed. Law is breathless from it and Luffy is watching him with a soft, patient smile.

“First time?” Luffy asks.

“Yeah.”

“I’ve always wanted to be a whale,” Luffy says, softly, before spinning off to back to the tour group.

Law looks at where the whales have gone and yeah, he gets it.

 

 

It doesn’t occur to Law that Luffy might have asked him out until he’s kneeling on the lower deck, peering at anemones and abalones through the glass bottom. Some of the tourists are crowding close enough that he could lash out, but Bepo is there and Luffy is talking about kelp forests.

There’s just a moment of eye contact, and that’s all it takes for Law to forget to forget that he’s actually having a good time.

He doesn’t know Luffy and Luffy knows everyone. Luffy found him in a bakery and dragged him off for a free tour. There was a fucking champagne and cheese toast after the whales and Luffy just gave him a glass of the apple cider and a toothpick stacked with gouda like he’d paid however much these bougies paid with a little wink and a grin. Luffy gave him the Martinelli’s for the kids and for sober people as if he actually knows about Law.

Robin loves Luffy. Nami is his roommate. Maybe he does know. Maybe Luffy knows everything. Maybe Luffy knows about Boston. 

On a boat, there’s nowhere to run.

Law panics, briefly. Bepo steps on his foot. Once, twice, again, before Law finds himself again and tells himself it’s okay. 

He doesn’t have class or work today and he went to a fucking bakery and ate a gluten-free brownie today. Law can do pretty much anything. He’s conquering today. The moment of eye contact has already passed but Law is being the jackass now, just staring at Luffy when there’s a god damn gorgeous window into an undersea fantasy land right in front of him.

So Law digs his hand deeper into Bepo’s fur and looks back down. 

After the tour, after the tourists leave and throw tips at Luffy, Luffy swings around to him. 

“So? Did you like it?”

“I’ve never seen whales before,” Law says honestly. 

“Good!” Luffy claps him on the shoulder and Law does his best not to tense up. But Luffy isn’t too hard. Doesn’t try to drag him in for anything. He just pats Law like he might a dog, while even respecting Bepo’s service dog apron and not patting him.

People do this. Normal people do this. 

“So,” Luffy continues. “I’ve got two more tours today, and then I’m just gonna be sitting in my office. Super boring! But you come over for dinner, all right?” 

“Um,” Law says. “I - I might - “

“You know Nami! Hold on. Here.” And now Luffy is handing him a massive, noisy keyring. “Text Nami for the address. I’m gonna be running late, so just come over whenever you’re hungry. And we’ll hang out, and it’ll be awesome.”

Law takes the keys. “Okay?” It isn’t supposed to be a question. Luffy laughs again.

“Dude, any friend of Nami and Robin is a friend of mine. And you’re in new town!”

“Yeah,” Law admits. “I’ve only been here for less than a year. But - “

“Do you love it?”

“It’s nice. I’ve always lived close to the sea,” Law says, and that sounds like too much. But he remembers the noise of the Boston harbor. He knows the smell of the ocean. 

He likes Eureka. He likes California. He likes his school and the things he’s doing and he thinks he likes Luffy.

So, he goes to dinner. 

 

 

It’s easy with Luffy.

It’s just - hey, do you want to hang out? And if Law says yes, he hangs out with Luffy. If he says no, he doesn’t. And it’s fine.

Luffy is physical and close but never overt. Never tries to kiss him. Never asks for anything but a minute of Law’s time. A reply to a text about how goofy pelicans are or an invitation to the beach. And they just hang out.

He spends more time at Nami and Luffy's place. Sees just how black the bottom of Luffy's feet get, how messy his room can be. Luffy knows everyone and there's always people drifting in and out of the apartment. It's chaotic and loud and Law feels like he's on the boat again, like his feet aren't attached to the earth and he can just drift. He can just be. Whatever he does, whoever he is, Luffy is cool with it.

It's almost terrifying, the fact that Law can simply exist in Luffy's spaces. That he's welcome no matter what he does, who he is, or what he's done.

Law learns that Luffy wanted to join the Navy before he realized the restrictions of the military. That he wanted to be a marine biologist, but he dropped out of high school. That he was born in San Diego and just steadily worked his way up the coast. That he was one of those drifter kids, and that he has a collection of wire-wrapped seashells and fake gems and bones he's picked up and there's stories behind every one. That he once slept in a van full of traveling buskers for three weeks, that the first time he did acid he went skinny-dipping in January, that he never knew his parents. That he loves showing sheltered tourists from the Midwest whales for the first time, seeing their jaws drop. 

Luffy asks Law what his favorite foods are. Luffy takes Law out to the best clam chowder he’s ever had. And Luffy never asks why Law needs a service dog, or about his tattoos, or why he sometimes freaks out and can’t handle making eye contact with another human for a week straight. Why sometimes he needs to hole up in his room and hide from a world he’s still learning how to embrace.

When he asks Robin, all Robin says is that Luffy has helped her in ways even Luffy isn’t aware of, and he thinks he might get it.

He and Robin don’t talk much about their pasts, either, but they recognize the shadows in each other. They know about haunted looks and hidden scars and drinking black coffee until their heartbeat races but they’re still so damn tired. 

The whole point of this thing - of going back to school. Getting a new phone number. Seeing a therapist and writing down his dreams about Boston. This is a part of it all, the healing process.

Luffy just fits. 

The first time Luffy holds his hand they’re at a bonfire party on the beach. It’s fun, but there’s booze and Law just needs a minute to step away and remember that people who don’t have PTSD from fucking dead families and abusive uncles sometimes drink for fun. Luffy is two beers deep and he’s giddy with it, but. 

He finds Law standing at the shoreline, waves licking his bare toes, and just stays. Doesn’t ask him to come back and drink. Doesn’t ask him why he’s ditching the party. 

Instead he tells talks about the crabs he’s dug from this very same shore, and when his fingers slide into Law’s, Law doesn’t let go.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm having fun here. One Piece was one of my childhood fandoms and I've never written anything with these characters before, so.

Zoro gets the call at work. He's mindlessly slipping a knife through fish, quickly flopping over the filets, when his phone starts buzzing and he has to tug off his glove to answer it. Sanji hisses at him, but the dude is balls-deep in tins of caviar so there's nothing he can do to stop Zoro from slipping out. Not like the guy isn't always slipping out for cigarettes, so whatever. Fuck him.

"Zoro! Oh, thank god. I know you're working and I'm sorry but I'm - I'm freaking out, here, man." There's a deep sucking sound on the other end of the line, and then Usopp starts coughing. Sounds like he's smoking one of his bigger bongs. Usopp blows some pretty wild glass. "It's Luffy," he croaks. "You gotta check on him."

"Luffy?" Zoro tenses instantly. "What happened? Where is he?"

"He's got a _boyfriend._ " 

Zoro takes a moment to think about it. "No, he doesn't."

"Yes he does!"

"Prove it."

Usopp pauses. "Prove it? How do you expect me to - look, just talk to Luffy or something, okay? You know how he is. He just started bringing some guy around and he won't even tell me anything - they just left my place, man. They're definitely together. He bought Luffy a new pipe, dude. And the guy is a total creep, and I don't know - I don't trust this, Zoro!"

"A creep? Is he old?"

"Not like that. He's - he's - he's weird, and his tattoos are weird, and he's weird. I mean, we don't know this guy. He could be a serial killer or something and he's like, from the East Coast or somewhere weird like that and -"

Zoro frowns at his phone, looks back at the kitchen door. Luffy doesn't have girlfriends or boyfriends, and if he had a boyfriend he'd tell Zoro. Or maybe he wouldn't. Maybe he wouldn't say anything, and maybe if Luffy decides to break his little monk deal for a guy it's nobody's business but his. He puts the phone back up to his ear just in time to catch Usopp talking about how fucking creepy the boyfriend is. "What's his name? Usopp, did you get his name?"

"It's Law," Usopp says, shakily. "And something - like Times Square or something. Something British."

"Trafalgar?"

"How'd you know?"

"Dude," says Zoro, and then, "Dude." 

"Hey, shithead!" Sanji's thrown open the kitchen door to scream at him. "Get your ass back to work!"

"I gotta go," Zoro tells Usopp. "Stop worrying. And shut the fuck up, you slimy son of a bitch!" That last part is for Sanji but he accidentally screams it into the phone. Usopp squawks, hangs up. "That was an important call, just so you know."

"You're fired! You're fired! Pack your knives and go home, fuckface!"

"You can't fire me," Zoro sneers. "You couldn't keep this place running without me."

"I gave you this job and I will take it away. Just - like - that. Now get your ass back in."

So that's a whole thing, and then they're back at work and Zoro forgets all about how his roommate is apparently dating Luffy. It's Thursday night, busy at the sushi house. Zoro's quick with the knifework, but Sanji handles everything else. The pace of the job is good, though. The slice and dice, the scales and spines. When he gets right down to it he's pretty lucky to have this job. This was the job that got him out of Luffy's van, after all. Not like Sanji can really get to him. After closing he has a few beers and a leftover California roll during clean-up, and Sanji whines at him again, which leads to another fight, which just means Zoro needs an extra beer.

It's not like he drives to work anyways. He rides the bus, on prescribed paths and lines, follows the exact route Google tells him to reach his address. He's only been living in the new house for eight months or so, and it's still pretty rough trying to remember where the hell it is. It's just a little white shotgun shack type on the northern edge of town, looking exactly like a hundred other houses. It's late and the house is dark, but his roommate is still awake. With his dog on the couch watching Forensic Files and peacefully ignoring Zoro, just the way he always does.

Right. His new roommate. Zoro narrows his eyes and studies the figure on the sofa, who doesn't even seem to notice his staring. He will notice. He should notice. Damn, and Law seemed like an okay guy at first.

But now he's Luffy's boyfriend and Zoro is mentally slapping himself. He lives with the guy, and he had no idea. For all he knows Luffy might be in a trouble and it's all Zoro's fucking fault.

The only reason why Zoro knows his roommate's full name is because it's on their lease agreement. He's never really cared or paid much attention to the guy. Law was some student from the East Coast who needed a house, and Zoro had to get the hell out of Nami and Luffy's apartment. The guy was quiet, he had a service dog, he paid his bills. Sometimes he came in smelling like formaldehyde and dead things, but that was quickly cleared up when he learned Law was in pre-med. That also explained why he was so tired all the time. Too tired to socialize ever, or say anything to Zoro besides the required conversations about rent and electricity bills and can you please move your car out the driveway and shit.

Law has always just been a silent black shape in the house. Zoro sees more of his dog than he does the dude himself. 

"Um," says Zoro, and Law turns to blink at him. For the first time Zoro realizes the guy has a goatee, which is pretty shady. Not to mention the fact that he's from the East Coast, and Zoro hasn't been more than thirty miles from Eureka in his whole life. The people from those clogged cities are always weird, he knows that much. New Yorkers don't say hi and get mad about pizza, and he's heard people from Philly will murder you if you put Swiss cheese on a sandwich. Or hoagie or whatever the fuck they say over there. Law is taking on too many new dimensions now. His hands are curled around the remote control and Jesus, the guy has DEATH tattooed on his knuckles. 

Who the fuck does that? More importantly, what could a guy like that see in Luffy? A hundred half-formed ideas run through the drowsy channels of Zoro's brain. The guy is probably a murderer or something. He's preparing Luffy as a sacrifice for his satanic dark lord. He's a cannibal, and if Zoro ever violated the tape labels on Law's stuff in the freezer he'd find stolen hearts from the cadavers. That's why he's always watching crime shows. To learn how to hide the evidence.

"You... wanna watch TV?" Law says, in his usual monotone, and Zoro just crosses his arms to glare at him.

"Forensic Files, huh?"

"I like the murder shows."

"Why's that?" 

Law gives him a long, meaningful look, but Zoro can't figure out what the hell the meaning is supposed to be. "I wanted to be a mortician when I was a kid."

"Yeah. Well. I wanted to be a samurai."

"The frivolity of youth," Law says distantly, and pets his dog.

"What do you even do for a living?"

Law doesn't look away from the television, but his eyebrow raises. "I live off my grants for school. Any more inquiries?"

"I cut up fish," Zoro says. "At the - at the sushi place. Somewhere downtown. One of those places. I cut up fish and you cut up bodies." 

Law gives him a long, searching look. "I know."

"Yeah. We could - we could be hiding bodies somewhere. In this house."

"Could we, now?" Law's teeth are oddly blue in the light from the television. To Zoro's exhausted mind, he looks like a shark. "We'll have to get a new freezer. It'll run up our energy bills."

"So - are we cannibals now, or?"

Law chuckles dryly. "I guess. But this is Forensic Files, not Hannibal."

"I'm not joking. So if you're a murderer like me, better tell me now."

Now he has Law's full attention. The guys shoulders are drawn up but he has eyes like a wild animal, prey and predator all at once. "Dude. Are you drunk?"

Zoro goes to hide in the kitchen. There's more beer, at least. He drinks the first one too fast, wondering what the hell to do now that his roommate is a murderer, and then he grabs another. Heads to the couch and plops down on the far end, as far away as possible. He doesn't offer Law a beer. On the television the mortician is talking about judging the time of death by the stages of decomposition and Law seems to be paying attention. The subject of Luffy is too distant to bring up right now but Zoro is sure that once he finishes his second beer, he'll be ready.

What he isn't ready for is Luffy bursting in the front door like he lives here. To crow with delight when he sees Zoro and vault over the couch, dirty feet landing on the ragged leather, and slide down next to Law.

"Zoro! You and Law live together now? How come I don't know these things?"

"We haven't been living here long," Zoro says.

"Dude, this is wild. Look at this. My two favorite people under one roof."

"Yeah? I'm telling Nami you said I'm her favorite. Get ready to live on my couch, kid."

"Go get me a beer," Luffy says, and Zoro ruffles his greasy hair before getting up and then realizing that he still hasn't gotten to the bottom of whatever the fuck. He peeks behind him and sees Luffy whispering something to Law, and the guy actually smiles.

Like a nice smile. Not like a serial killer smile. He's giving Zoro a weird look now, whispering to Luffy about something, and it hits Zoro that he's the one acting weird here. 

Well. Okay. 

It's none of his business, anyways.  

 

 

The first time Zoro met Luffy was at the farmer's market. Just some wiry ragged kid, straw hat on, busking with a banjo. A fucking banjo.

He was sixteen, so it must have been Zoro's senior year of high school. Back when he thought wearing steel-toed boots in a beach town would make him look tough. When he dyed his hair green and stole cigarettes to look cool. And this weird hippie kid had waved at him and asked if he had requests.

Zoro asked for Wonderwall. Just to fuck with him. And the kid had done it, even thrown in some Liam-esque caterwauling, and Zoro had to give him five bucks to get him to stop.

And Luffy just kept showing up. He'd found whatever it was he was traveling for in Eureka, or maybe he was just too broke to keep going. It's something Zoro will never find out, what made Luffy stop. 

Luffy played Enter the Sandman at the university campus, when Zoro thought he might give higher education a shot. Luffy played Free Bird at half past midnight in front of the Denny's after Zoro got kicked out of a bar for being underage. Luffy found him that one night when Zoro was lost and wasted in downtown Eureka and he'd let Zoro sleep in the back of his garish yellow van. In the morning they took hits off a kraken-shaped bong and Luffy played his banjo for an audience of pelicans. 

Somehow that made them friends. The rough punk and the homeless gutter rat. There were tweakers in the streets, after all, and someone had to keep Luffy safe. Except then he'd seen Luffy get in a fight with an addict who was trying to steal his banjo and, yeah, damn. The guy could put up a fight. That was the single most exciting night of Zoro's life, probably, watching Luffy break a banjo over some guy's head. 

The thing is, Zoro found out pretty quickly that Luffy had pretty much never had a boner in his life. Or if he had, he didn't care. There was a week of awkward one-sided crushing during one hot summer Zoro spent the entirety of in the van. They slept too close every night, woke up sweaty and tangled together, and nothing ever happened. 

Just flat out nothing.

Nami uses words like "ace arrow" about Luffy which sounds like gibberish. Luffy has some hot older lady friend at the university who acts like a sugar mommy. Except there's no sugar involved and Robin is pretty gay, so. There's a mechanic who has fixed Luffy's van multiple times for free. Even the god damn landlord at the old apartment was ready to hire to a kid with no rental history, no credit, and no job. Because it was Luffy. 

Now, Luffy has had a steady job doing the boat tours for about two years now. He's got a roof over his head and he's somehow stable.

Maybe it's just time for him to start dating.

Zoro nurses his beer and watches Law shake his head when offered a drink. Watches the odd smile that crosses his face. He's pointing at the screen and telling Luffy some gruesome story about dissecting cadavers in school and Luffy is howling with laughter and, yeah.

It's none of his business.

Zoro decides that he's had enough to drink. He's taking a nap, right now. If his maybe-a-murderer roommate tries to pull a move, Luffy can handle himself.

When he wakes up four hours later, the television is stuck on infomercials. Luffy is snoring, legs sprawled out over Zoro's lap and his head on Law's shoulder. 

Law is wide awake.

Zoro meets his eyes, tries to find a threat, but then Law just glances down at Luffy. 

It's fine.

Luffy is at peace, and the hand that reads DEATH is wrapped around his shoulder.

Zoro nods, just once. Looks at Law and hopes he's sending the right subliminal messages or whatever. Hurt him, you die, whatever. Then he closes his eyes, tilts his head back, and falls back asleep with the weight of Luffy in his lap.


	4. Chapter 4

The giraffe-shaped pipes are Usopp's favorite, even if they’re tricky to make. Just gotta work fast, that's all. Then you have to kind of make out with the giraffe to get a hit, and the carb is on the butt. It’s silly but they sell for $65 apiece. But the giraffe is a good design, because it can stand upright and the neck is long enough so that even Luffy can’t accidentally inhale chunks of resin. 

He makes three more after he sells his last one to Luffy’s creepy boyfriend just to calm his nerves, and then realizes what an idiot he is. Zoro might not care that Luffy has a boyfriend, but Nami is the one with all the juicy details.

Except Nami is firmly on the side of the creep.

“Listen to me, Usopp,” she grits on the other end. “If you fuck up anything with Luffy and Law, I will personally eviscerate you. I will slit your god damn throat and give you to Sanji for his next sushi special and then I’ll come to his restaurant for once in my life just to eat you raw. Do you understand?”

“Of course! Yeah, completely, absolutely crystal, but - but - “

“But nothing! I finally have a chance to get Luffy to move out. To have my own apartment - Usopp, please. Don’t mess this up for me.”

“I won’t! I won’t! I swear!”

Nami sighs, mumbles to herself for a moment. “And besides, you don’t have anything to worry about. Law is fine, okay? Okay. Ask Robin if you want to know more. Now, leave me alone. I’m cleaning all the fucking rotten food out of the fridge because Luffy thinks he can just cut off mold and it’s fine. Mold! He eats moldy food, Usopp, and he gets upset when I throw it away and the only reason I can clean out my fridge right now is because he isn’t here. Capiche?”

“Capiche. Absolutely. Yeah.”

And then Nami hangs up and Usopp can’t even bring himself to work anymore. The forge is cooling, anyways, and the last giraffe pipe he made is kind of wobbly. He needs to smoke. He needs to call Robin.

All Robin says is that she’s known Law for a very, very long time. 

Yeah. Like Robin isn’t shady enough. 

 

Back when Usopp was still just doing wirewrapping and playing tambourine on the beach, he met Luffy. The kid was only sixteen, but he had the smile and the banjo to take Usopp’s busking to the next level. It was with Luffy that Usopp went to his first glass-blowing class and found a passion - a career, really. Usopp was terrified of working with hot glass but Luffy promised him he wouldn’t burn himself, and now here Usopp is. Sitting in his studio surrounded by glassware people are willing to pay too much for, with over six hundred followers on Instagram and getting dispensary weed on the cheap because of all the business he started bringing them with his window displays of exotic bongs. Hell, he just came back from Hempfest up in Seattle and made triple what he would normally make in a month. 

And it was Luffy who gave him the courage to go and be a vendor in the first place, so.

It’s not like Usopp isn’t aware of his anxiety. He has a diagnosis on paper, after all, and a legit prescription for all the weed he smokes. But Luffy is brave and cool and nice and he’s the best friend, like, ever, and Luffy doesn’t date. Luffy doesn’t even fuck. Luffy doesn’t do that. Excuse him if he’s a little terrified now that his rock is rocking.

Also? Law doesn’t smoke weed. He doesn’t even drink. Clearly he can’t be trusted.

But Law starts showing up more and more often. Even when they’re having a sesh, Law just sits there and passes the pipe without taking a hit. He’s just one of those guys who has to be sober, like a former heroin addict who just can’t let themself have even just a hit because it’s a whole thing for them. Sure, he’s getting some second-hand, but the dude is also from the East Coast and doesn’t know the first thing about weed.

The real kicker is when Law starts trying to hang out with him on his own. No Luffy as a buffer.

But Usopp is a sucker for praise - after all, he makes art for other people to enjoy. It’s kind of his job. The first time Law sees his studio he kind of geeks out, and next thing Usopp knows he’s agreeing to give a glassblowing lesson to a total stranger. A creepy, weird stranger who honest-to-god has DEATH tattooed on his knuckles. 

Law is terrible at blowing glass. Zero lung capacity and the artistic talent of a drunken and uncoordinated H. R. Giger. But his enthusiasm is hard to deny, and, well. Everyone starts somewhere. 

They’re in the glass studio when Usopp decides to throw caution to the wind. Law has just broken his first decent vase, so it’s a good time.

“So you and Luffy, huh? I never thought Luffy would date anybody,” and Usopp’s voice is shaking a bit.

“What?” Law looks down at his dog. “Hey, Bepo. Are me and Luffy dating?”

The dog?

The dog sits up, looks up at his charge expectantly.

“Are we?” Law asks again, and Usopp holds his tongue because he knew it, he knew Law was flat out insane. 

Bepo raises one paw, quirking his ears.

“Bepo doesn’t know. He thinks that’s a weird question to ask.”

“The dog doesn’t -”

“Bepo’s smart. He understands me. If Bepo could talk, he’d say the same thing. He’s practically human, when you think about it.”

“He’s a dog!”

“You’re making him uncomfortable.” Law reaches, scratching behind the ears, and he hasn’t even answered the question.

It plagues Usopp for months, but when Luffy and Law finally move in together he figures it out. 

They probably just got secretly married or something.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> all us trans people are different and special, your thoughts are welcome.

Law might not even remember the first time he met Robin. It was in the Donquixote mansion, some wood-paneled foyer with too much rococo styling for her taste. The old men were in the drawing room with their cigars and she was sixteen, old enough to tag along with her grandfather but too young to hear the details of the business. 

The kid seemed to be about six or seven. She’d heard of the young niece of Doflamingo, heard tight-lipped whispers of the brother. The child was sitting primly in an armchair too big for him and a dress too small, and Robin had assumed she was there to babysit. 

But the kid never spoke a word. 

It was a week after Rocinante’s death. Powers were shifting and rumors were whispered behind oaken doors. 

There were no crayons or blocks or books beyond dusty law books dating from fifty years ago. Besides, the kid was completely unresponsive. Silent. 

Robin had liked Rocinante. Never spoke much, just like her.

So she sat in the chair beside, with the antiquated globe between them. spun the globe and stopped it without looking. Landed on somewhere in the Middle East, where the cities of Ur and Babylon once stood. Somewhere between the Tigris and Euphrates. The kid seemed to listen when she spoke of Hammurabi. She spun the globe again, landed on Korea. Cheomseongdae and the ancient astrologer queen. The kid’s eyes darted to the globe. 

Another spin. This time the western coast of Africa, the old kingdoms of Dahomey and the Senegambian stones. The kid scooted forward in his chair, peering at the globe. 

She spun the globe and talked, filling the room with lost civilizations and ancient history while the kid’s eyes grew wider and wider, and then the great wooden doors opened and the kid sat back instantly. Face blank, eyes empty.

Then she’d turned eighteen. Then she’d left for college and tried to put as much of the family behind her as she could. Then she changed her name, legally, and dropped out of school and went as far west as she could. In California, she could even change her gender legally, but Robin still drove with one eye in the rearview mirror. 

It was years before she dared to reach out to her mother via a proxy email, and that was how she learned the Donquixote nephew had split. Ran away to Los Angeles, of all the places.

The sprawling smoggy hellhole of Los Angeles, right. Robin likes Eureka. It’s quiet and cool, not too crowded. A better place than Los Angeles.

She found Law in a halfway house off Crenshaw and took him up north. Helped him figure out his Medi-Cal insurance and therapy and apply for grants and all that. There was a sizeable trust fund in Law’s name somewhere, but he’d made the mistake of leaving la famiglia before taking advantage of it, and Robin had too much money anyways. 

Law lived in silence for a long time. 

Robin went to the farmer’s markets. Robin went to craft fairs and to the beach. Robin met a kid who reminded her a little of Law in all the wrong ways, or maybe the right ones. Just a runaway kid with dreams too big for the world to hold, who slipped through the cracks. The only thing was Law refused to leave the house. Robin had been paranoid too, but then again, she wasn’t raised by Doflamingo. 

Gender therapy helped. The top surgery helped - after she caught Law double binding just the one time, the question of money stopped mattering. But the service dog, now. Robin never saw Law smile until he met Bepo. And Bepo had to be taken for walks, which meant Law had to go outside. 

After Law started school and moved out, Robin saw less of him. He was visibly stressed at school, but trying his best. They met for weekly coffee dates near the wharf, and she would watch him drink the biggest and blackest cups.

And Luffy would run by on his way to work, hat swinging, throwing Robin a wave to which she always replied.

“Is that your friend?” Law finally asked. “That kid in the raincoat?”

“Luffy is friends with everybody,” Robin said. “You might like him, if you ever met him.”

Law said nothing and sipped his coffee.

Well. Robin’s always right about these kinds of things. 

 

She notices it at school, Law walking with a lighter step. Law getting a darker tan from spending time outside. Law smiling more, talking to random students, engaging in actual conversation with other humans.

It’s hard leaving the family. Somewhere Robin’s mother is still trapped behind the walls of the big house in Boston. The other kids grew up to be assassins and money launderers and arms dealers. The stink of death lies heavily over the family, and one of Robin’s cousins will be in prison for the rest of his life.

And over three thousand miles away, Law with his stupid knuckle tattoos takes off his shoes to walk on the beach. Takes off his shirt even if the tattoos don’t quite cover his scars all the way, swimming out in the sea after Luffy. 

And over three thousand miles away, Robin can lounge under a beach umbrella, cocktail and a book in hand, and give Nami a knowing look. 

They were never broken, after all. It was just the setting. 

It's good, having a life one wants to live.


	6. Chapter 6

Nami threw out Luffy’s food again. He digs in the garbage for the freezerburned chicken nuggets. Not that he dumpster dives much anymore, but still. It’s a waste of good food. The Trader Joes down in Monterey used to throw out quality food all the time. Luffy used to park his van behind there a lot. Hell, it must have been Ace who taught him how to dumpster dive back in San Diego, before Ace went south and Luffy went north.

Now he gets to dumpster dive in his own freaking kitchen. There’s even some sandwich meat still in the deli package. Might be getting green and smelly, but Luffy has always prided himself on having an iron gut and a frugal hand.

If Nami was here she would kill him. Nah, she wouldn’t kill him. She would just get stressed, and stress isn’t healthy.

Luffy pops the chicken nuggets and waits. Sends Law a text to see if he’s still down to sit around watching TV until they fall asleep tonight. 

_Your place or mine_ Law sends back.

Luffy thinks about it. The oven timer dings. He smothers the nuggets in barbecue sauce to make up for the fact that they’re tough and gross. 

urs, Luffy sends. cu soon!! 

Nami should be home soon. And yeah, okay. Luffy has a real job now and he makes money and can buy his own groceries. But the last time he bought groceries was for the kids who live under the bridge, and the fancy gluten free bread for Law, and the steaks he and Zoro roasted on the beach, and all the beer he buys for Franky, and down at the jazz club he spent about a hundred bucks on drinks for Brook’s whole band, and the truth is, Luffy’s food is perfectly fine. Was perfectly fine.

Law and Zoro aren’t too good at buying groceries, either. Maybe he’ll bring them the sandwich meat. And the stale cheese, and the wilted lettuce. 

Luffy takes the van because it’s past dark. It’s been quite a while since he’s slept in the van, he realizes. Sure, he might have crashed there even after getting the apartment a few times, but even after a party he can always crash with Law. On a couch, on in Law’s bed, wherever. 

Maybe, if Luffy takes the time off work and Law can get a break from school, they could take a roadtrip. Yeah. It’d be nice to sleep in the van with Law. 

At Zoro and Law’s place they spread paper plates out on the coffee table. Turn on Investigation Discovery and wrap meat and cheese in lettuce. Just like a sandwich, minus the bread. 

“I forgot to bring you more bread,” Luffy says mournfully. 

“I can buy my own gluten-free bread, you know.”

“Well, I like buying it for you.”

“He doesn’t buy groceries, ever,” Zoro says around a mouthful of meat. “I think we have crackers and ketchup in the fridge. That’s it.”

“You never buy food either,” Law says, nudging Zoro with his knee. 

“I work in a restaurant,” Zoro says, as if that explains everything. 

“How do you guys survive?”

“I don’t,” Zoro says. “I starve unless I’m at work.” He frowns at the slice of meat he’s about to put in his mouth. “Smells weird.”

“Had to pull it out of the trash again. Nami is so wasteful!”

Law chokes. Zoro drops the meat hastily. Whatever, more for Luffy. It’s like these guys have never been hungry before. Sanji’s much smarter about food; you’d think he would have taught Zoro a thing or two. 

“Does Nami throw away your food a lot?” Law asks tightly.

“Yeah. She always says I buy too much. That’s why I always bring you guys old stuff, before she gets her hands in it.” 

“I can solve all of our problems at once,” Zoro says. “When you buy groceries? Just bring them straight here. Besides, you’re at our place all the time anyways.”

“You might as well live here.”

“That’s true.” Luffy considers it for a moment. Most everything he owns fits in the van, anyways. It’s a little farther from the wharf, but he’ll just have to wake up ten minutes earlier in the morning. Plus, Nami won’t have to cry about the fridge and Luffy’s feet all the time. “All right. I’m moving in.”

“You can’t just make decisions like that,” Law says, shifting on the couch.

“Yes, I can. Nami’s the only one actually on the lease anyways. And your landlord lives in San Francisco. Besides, I park my van here all the time. So I technically already live here.” 

“We can sublet,” Law muses. “And if we split the rent three ways…”

“There’s only two bedrooms.” Zoro points out.

“Share mine,” Law says. “Bepo doesn’t mind sharing the bed.”

“Yeah, you got a really soft mattress.” Law does. He has the softest mattress ever and Luffy loves it.

“I’m going to bed,” Zoro announces. “You two? Keep it down.” He takes his last beer with him.

“Guess he’s okay with it,” Law says.

“This is gonna be great.”

“And our lease is up in four months or so.”

“We’ll just renew it!”

“You planning on staying that long?”

Law is looking at the TV, but Luffy just looks at Law. 

Sometimes Law gets like this. It’s no secret that Luffy has bounced around quite a lot. But he’s been in Eureka for years, now. His friends are here. Law is here.

But Law isn’t talking about Eureka. Law is talking about this. This - this thing they’re doing. Where they eat together and hang out together and sometimes it’s just the two of them. Where Law will text first thing in the morning about dreams he’s had, dreams he doesn’t tell anybody else. Where Luffy told him about his brother who’s somewhere south of the US border, the brother he isn’t supposed to worry about. 

“I’ll be leaving soon. Soon as I save up for a boat, I’m taking off.”

Law relaxes a little, flexing his hands around the remote. “Yeah? Sounds good.”

“Gonna sail all around the world, yeah.” Luffy nudges him. “Wanna come with?”

At that, Law shakes his head, smiling. Turns off the TV. “I’m tired. Let’s go.”

Bedtime is always good. Touch is good. It makes Luffy feel warm and good and connected, like he’s making Law happy. Just by being there.

“You really want to sail around the globe, huh?” Law asks, and Luffy laughs, leaning in his arms.

"What, don't you?"

"Shh," Law says, and kind of just. Nuzzles Luffy's hair.

It doesn’t get weird. 

The last person Luffy could touch like this was Zoro, but it got weird. And Luffy gets it. It’s the whole sex thing. Zoro got weird and he didn’t want to talk about it and it was fine because Luffy didn’t want to either. 

Law almost got weird about it. They were sleeping on the couch at Nami’s place and Luffy really, really wanted to hug him so he did. And Law thought Luffy might get weird. 

As if Luffy gives a shit about what Law keeps in his pants. At least Law doesn’t get any morning wood to get weird about. So Luffy told him if anyone gave him a hard time in a public bathroom he’d kick their asses, and Law had laughed like something was being shaken loose inside him and reached for Luffy, reached for his hair, and they’d cuddled like that.

So it comes to this.

Luffy moves in within a day; he doesn’t have much stuff. But Nami helps him out and gives him some of her art prints because she’s so happy. She won’t be stressed out anymore, so Luffy is happy. Law doesn’t have much stuff, and it’s easy to tell their clothes apart because the dude is really, really freaking tall. And when the moon is full, it falls just right through their window, and Law doesn’t mind that Luffy has to sleep with the window open.

Maybe Luffy sleeps less, because Law has trouble sleeping. He talks to Bepo when he can’t sleep, and now he talks to Luffy, too. Maybe Law sleeps more, because Luffy sleeps more, and when Luffy wraps his arms around Law his breathing evens out. If Law starts to shake, Luffy can grab his hands. 

Law is real and he’s here and shouldn’t ever have to doubt it. But if Luffy touches him, he feels it. If Bepo licks his cheek, he smiles. Bepo works so hard, it’s easy for Luffy. 

 

 

“We need a party,” Luffy decides. It’s Monday, the one day the tours are closed, which means he has time to actually enjoy breakfast. Law is drinking coffee at the other end of the table. 

It’s been a while since Luffy moved in. Here, no one minds if he puts his feet on the table.

“Is there a holiday coming up?” Law asks.

“There’s been a holiday. In fact… yep, it’s the anniversary.”

“Of what?”

“Me moving in, silly! We need a housewarming party.”

Law looks around the shabby kitchen. “Here?”

“The beach, duh. Man, I wish I could have parties on the glass-bottom boat.”

“Your boss would let you get away with it, I bet.”

Jinbei lets Luffy get away with a lot of shit, but he’s pretty sure he wouldn’t be down with a party on the tour boat. Still, it might be worth suggesting. Luffy files away the information for later.

One day, he’s gonna have a boat. 

Yeah. That sounds good.

“Do you want a boat party, Law?”

Law stares at him like Luffy’s grown a second head sometimes. It’s pretty darn cute. “I’ve never really thought of it.”

“If I get a boat…” Luffy says slowly, the idea forming. “We could party. All the time. For… two years? Three years? How long does it take to circumnavigate the world?”

“I don’t know. Probably someone set a world record.”

“I’m gonna break it,” Luffy decides. 

And that’s it. Luffy makes decent money he could be saving up for something. Something big. First, he’ll go south. See if Ace ever reached Patagonia. Then across the Pacific, to the islands of the oldest navigators. Around the coast of Australia where goddamn kangaroos live. The sea of India and the coast of Africa and then he’ll reach the Caribbean, sail through the Panama Canal, and then - 

Well. The world will be his fucking oyster at that point.

Law is smiling over his coffee. “Yeah, I bet you will.”

“I am. And it’s gonna be great.” Luffy sits up in his chair a little. He can see it already. A horizon of blue, blue below and blue above and nothing but the sea and freedom as far as he can see. Law is looking tired, as always, and Luffy wonders how long it’ll take him to save up for a boat. Lots of people take time off of school, don’t they? After graduating, you take a vacation. 

Swinging his feet off the table, Luffy pokes Law’s bony knee with a foot. “And you’re coming with.”

Blinking, Law gives Luffy a long, unreadable look. 

"Don't worry. Bepo is totally coming with. And anyone else who wants. If they can, if they have time," Luffy amends, because he knows Nami has her future career and Sanji owns a business and people have lives and get older and grow quieter. 

But, hell. He can at least take the whole crew as far as Hawaii.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaand that's all I had. This was fun. I had fun putting these characters in a little beach town, even if this was kind of plotless and I forgot some characters. Hah. Well. We'll see.


End file.
